Galway win Connacht U21 crown

Galway Advertiser, Thu, Apr 06, 2017

The Galway U21s, under the guidance of Gerry Fahy, had a sensational 3-20 to 2-14 win over Sligo after extra time at Markievicz Park on Sunday.

At one stage in the first half Galway found themselves behind by 1-7 to 0-2, and that kind of a poor start cannot be repeated when they face a very highly rated Kerry in the semi-final on Saturday week (April 15 ). The venue has yet to be decided, but will probably be Limerick. Dublin will face the Ulster champions in the other semi-final.

Galway were 1-7 to 0-5 behind at half-time and were all square at full-time, with some of the maroon substitutes adding real value, hitting a total of 2-5 from the bench.

Caherlistrane’s Céin Darcy was influential around the middle on his arrival and he will be pushing hard for a starting place in the semi-final.

Moycullen’s Sean Kelly, who is just coming back from a hamstring injury, fisted two goals in the first half of extra time, and they were key scores. Young Cillian McDaid also caught the eye with a super performance, and last year’s minor Robert Finnerty also chipped in with 0-6 (0-4fs ).

It was Galway’s 19th title at this grade and their last - the U21 championship being replaced by an U20 competition in 2018.